"Smoking gun" e-mail suggest promoters AEG Live may be liable in wrongful death case

As a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Michael Jackson's mother and children against concert promoter AEG Live moves toward a jury trial, Jackson's lawyers have presented what they say is a "smoking gun" email.

According to CNN, less than two weeks before Jackson's June 25, 2009, death, AEG Live co-CEO Paul Gongaware wrote an e-mail suggesting the company wanted to use the $150,000 monthly salary of Jackson's doctor, Conrad Murray, to pressure him into letting Jackson rehearse despite medical concerns. "We want to remind [Murray] that it is AEG, not MJ, who is paying his salary," CNN quotes Gongaware as writing (CNN doesn't say to whom). "We want to remind him what is expected of him."

Murray is currently serving a prison sentence for his conviction of involuntary manslaughter in Jackson's death. AEG Live reportedly argues that it isn't liable for Jackson's death because Murray didn't work for the company. The lawsuit against AEG Live seeks money equaling what Jackson might've earned over his lifetime if he hadn't died, an amount that could total several billion dollars. Previously disclosed emails from AEG executives show concerns about Jackson's health.